Washington state wildlife officers have tranquilized and removed a young cougar spotted lounging and snoozing 12 feet up a fir tree just south of the Veterans Medical Center in Vancouver.

A veterans center doctor spotted the cat Monday and the wildlife crew was notified. The tree was just about 60 yards from Interstate 5.

Once drugged, the 2-year-old cougar was taken to an undisclosed location in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and released.

Capt. Murray Schlenker tells The Columbian (http://bit.ly/p32LVM) that cougar sightings are rare in urban Vancouver, with the most recent being in 2003.

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Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com